Green Sea Turtles: coastal foraging puts endangered turtle at risk

Perusing the other ocean conservation blogs, I came across an interesting post written by Jesse Senko, marine researcher and seafood consultant for the Blue Ocean Institute - an ocean conservation non-profit headed by Dr. Carl Safina. Jesse writes of the challenges faced by green sea turtles as they forage through coastal areas. While tagging of sea turtles has produced important data regarding their long distance movements, not much is known about their shorter coastal movements, which actually constitutes the greatest part of their activity.

Although protected by law in Baja, Mexico, the green sea turtles are subjected to lax enforcement and protection and many turtles are lost to poachers or drowning in fishing nets. The turtles' dilemma in Baja reminded me of the supposedly protected white sharks, the juveniles of which can often be found in local Baja fish markets.

Daily movements of green sea turtles

Large marine vertebrates, such as sea turtles, are particularly vulnerable to human impacts due to their long lifespans, late maturity, slow reproductive rates, and extended migrations. Like most large marine vertebrates, sea turtles play key ecological roles in their environment when they are abundant. Green sea turtles are especially important in coastal areas because their grazing behavior significantly reduces nutrient cycling times in seagrass pastures.

In Baja California, Mexico, green sea turtles are protected by law, but lack of enforcement, coupled with drowning in fishing nets and illegal poaching has led these turtles to the brink of extinction. The majority of green turtles that are killed in Baja California are juveniles inhabiting coastal foraging areas; thus, understanding their movements and habitat use in this environment is a priority for conservation efforts. Nevertheless, while researchers have tracked the long-term movements of mainly nesting sea turtles, there is very little known about the short-term movements of green turtles in coastal foraging areas. Understanding this aspect of their biology is particularly important because green turtles spend the majority of their lives in these environments where they come in direct contact with fishing nets and poachers who often sell their meat on the black market.

Above: Jesse Senko (author) holding a green turtle before it is released

Recently, a team of biological scientists set out to better understand green sea turtle fine scale daily movements in a coastal foraging area along the Pacific Ocean in Baja California, Mexico. They developed a novel tracking device to conduct their study. The tracking tag consisted of a buoy that housed a GPS logger to record turtle movements and a VHF transmitter to locate the tracking tag. The researchers tethered the buoy to six green sea turtles. They found that green turtles were active throughout 24-hour periods while moving large distances over surprisingly short time periods. “We were surprised to see how far some of the turtles moved over temporal scales as short as one or two days. We had some turtles that moved total distances as far as 29 kilometers (18 miles) and occupied areas as large as 1,575 hectares (6 square miles) in a single 24-hour period”, said Senko, the study’s lead author.

The researchers also found that turtles were active throughout day, night, and crepuscular (dawn and dusk) periods of activity. “These results indicate that turtles were active throughout 24-hour periods, and did not show preferences for certain periods of the diel cycle (one 24-hour period). Given our findings that turtles moved large distances over short time periods and were active throughout 24-hour periods, conservation strategies intended to protect this endangered species may ideally need to encompass the entire coastal foraging area rather than focus on a few high use zones”, added Senko.

Above: Tracking a turtle

The full study in Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology can be found online at: http://wallacejnichols.org/wallacejnichols/Research/Entries/2010/9/2_JEMBE__Movements_of_green_turtles_in_Baja_files/*Senko_JEMBE_2010.pdf

FishPhone: great iPhone app for making sound seafood choices

For all you iPhone users and ocean fanatics, there is a new app to add to your phone. The FishPhone app from Carl Safina's Blue Ocean Institute is a great extension to Blue Ocean's Guide to Ocean Friendly Seafood.

The app lists a wide variety of seafood items using the guide's informative labeling system that covers ratings in population health, wild vs. farmed health, and pollutant levels. The app then takes another step by listing, for appropriate choices, some healthy recipes and wine selections. Most of the recipes come from chef Barton Seaver, noted for his work with sustainable seafood.

So, it's not only an informative app to have when you go to a restaurant or supermarket but, with the recipes and wine selections, it also makes it more palatable (excuse the pun) for those who are perhaps unenlightened about the issue of sustainable seafood - no shaking of the finger, saying "No, no, no!" which could be a turn-off to those who may be the most in need to understand the importance of making responsible choices when it comes to seafood.

While there are some who choose not to eat seafood altogether (and that may certainly be the ultimate solution), a larger portion of the populace has a place in their diet for seafood. And so anything that can help people transition from irresponsible choices to better choices to ultimately contemplating what is right for the ocean environment as a whole should be considered a useful step in the right direction.

And the app is FREE!

Congratulations to Carl and his team at the Blue Ocean Institute for putting together a terrific educational tool.

Get the app at Apple's iTunes/App Store.
Learn more about the Blue Ocean Institute.
Download Blue Ocean's Guide to Ocean Friendly Seafood.

Corporations and Conservation: Dr. Carl Safina looks at corporate responsibility

Dr. Carl Safina, founder of the Blue Ocean Institute, has a way with words when it comes to the moral obligations we, as inhabitants on this planet, have to the environment. He recently posted an excerpt on his blog of an upcoming book he has completed, The View From Lazy Point; A Natural Year in an Unnatural World, available this fall. It's very much worth a read; click here to read the entire excerpt.

In the excerpt, Carl looks at the big picture of corporate development, responsibility, and the "profit-maximization imperative" that has grown over centuries within the U.S. and worldwide. In a sense, the corporate culture has become the new aristocracy - an aristocracy that was challenged by the founders of this country.

"Modern corporations were essentially illegal at the founding of the United States. (The colonists had had enough of British corporations.) In the new country, corporations could form, raise public capital, and share profits with stockholders only for specified activities that benefited the public, such as constructing roads or canals. Corporate licenses were temporary. Corporations were forbidden from attempting to influence elections, law-making, public policy, and civic life. Imagine.

But from the beginning, corporate-minded men chafed for power, prompting Thomas Jefferson to write in 1816, 'I hope we shall… crush in its birth the aristocracy of our moneyed corporations, which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength and bid defiance to the laws of our country.'”

Environmentalists and conservationists are faced with a myriad of issues within which to invest their energy and passion. Often these are small skirmishes - regional challenges to a particular species or ecosystem - and we take these on because it is hoped that, collectively, it represents a larger battle that can be won. But the "big picture" must also be addressed, and that can be challenging because it requires societal change, often taking generations to be realized, and long-term strategies that can be subject to revision down the road, weakening the original intent.

Having spent some years in the corporate arena, I have seen the dichotomy in which it exists. In marketing, the customer is king and so products and services are devised to best meet the needs of the end user. But that ethical responsibility is in a perpetual tug-of-war with the profit-maximization imperative Carl refers to - and in that battle it would seem that the profit motive wins out more and more. Al Pacino's line from the Godfather, "It's nothing personal; it's strictly business" has always resonated with me as it succinctly defines the amoral philosophy that has guided economic development over the decades. This is something that I have come to grudgingly accept as it explains the corporate will to survive and to profit.

And on the face of it, that's not a bad thing until one examines the influence and power that appears to be an inevitable by-product of that philosophy. One would think that the role of federal or state governments, as a democratic representation of the people, would be to guard watch over industry in the best interest of society (and the environment in which that society resides).

"Corporations have swept real economic and political power away from most governments. Of the hundred wealthiest countries and corporations listed together, more than half are corporations. Exxon Mobil is richer than 180 countries—and there are only about 195 countries. Without the responsibilities or costs of nationhood, corporations can innovate and produce at unprecedented speed and scale. Yet they can also undertake acts of enormous social and environmental destruction and report a profit."

I have often said that corporations will be brought kicking and screaming into a more environmentally-friendly age until they can realize a profit. They will cleverly skirt the issue ("greenwashing") or cling to current business models (fossil fuels vs. zero-emissions) because of the, admittedly, enormous investment required. (One possible exception would be Nissan CEO, Carlos Ghosn's commitment to an all-electric vehicle. Read about it in the latest issue of Fortune.)

But society does have power, however underutilized. It does not lie in some moral, logical argument that will magically put corporate responsibility on a new path. It rests with devices that affect both corporations and governments: the pocketbook and the vote.

Years ago, I remember listening to an interview with a senior automotive executive where the development of the SUV was being discussed. The executive freely admitted that the SUV was over-sized and fuel-inefficient; a vehicle that just didn't make much sense from a practical standpoint. "But that's what the customer wants," he concluded.

Yes, we are pressured, persuaded, and bamboozled to think one way or another, to buy this or that. But if we as conservationists continue to reach out to others at the grass roots level, to get the word to the people, corporations and governments can change. It's a struggle, but it's one worth doing.

U.S. Salmon Policy for Columbia River: top scientist says it comes up short

It's one year into the new U.S. administration and scorecards are flying about, tallying up the highs and lows of the Obama administration as the President prepares for a State of the Union address this week.

Some people are noting that the "change" that was a centerpiece of the Obama campaign has not materialized. Others have said that much has been accomplished in the form of small steps that don't necessarily get a lot of attention. For conservationists, there were many hopeful signs at the outset, but there has been many areas of concern as the administration makes decisions that many see as counter-productive and reminiscent of the former administration's anti-environment/pro-business approach.

Case in point: Dr. Carl Safina, head of the Blue Ocean Institute, had an op-ed piece printed in the Los Angeles Times on Sunday that calls attention to the administration's adoption of a policy regarding Pacific Northwest wild salmon in the Columbia/Snake River system. The policy is the same as one proposed by the prior administration and looks to hold the line on the current levels of wild salmon - levels that already border on extinction for many salmon species that travel these inland waterways.

According to Dr. Safina, the annual migration of wild salmon through these rivers provides critical food source and nutrients for bears, wolves, orcas, and even the plants and trees in the area. Dr. Jane Lubchenco, the head of NOAA and administration point person on this issue states that the policy is intended to "prevent further declines." However, Dr. Safina comments on that approach:

"Keeping salmon in a coma and on life support does not heal them, nor help the other species, including people, that depend on them. The likeliest outcome of a salmon strategy based on just avoiding extinction will be extinction -- and not only of salmon."

The current administration is learning the harsh realities of turning campaign rhetoric into actionable leadership. When to play politics and run down the middle or when to take a stand based on sound scientific research seems to be a difficult balancing act for most governments. As supporters of ocean conservation, we need to make sure our voices are heard by our elected officials and that environmental decisions are made based on scientific research and in the best long-term interests of the animals and the environment. Because, regardless of what administration is in power, when they are gone, they are gone.

Read Dr. Safina's entire op-ed article.

Blue Ocean Institute: Founder nominated for award; sustainable seafood guide

Hello, readers. Took a few days off to film along the eastern Sierra Nevada mountains in California. Beautiful time of year and I will have a few clips available shortly.

In the meantime, I received word that Carl Safina, note scientist, ocean conservationist, and author has been nominated for the prestigious Indianapolis Prize, a well-regarded reward for animal conservation. I met Carl in June at the BLUE Ocean Film Festival and found him to be both very dedicated and accessible. Carl, along with Mercedes Lee, founded the Blue Ocean Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to ocean awareness through not only the dissemination of science, but through art and literature - mediums that can connect with the imagination and creative energies of the general populace, from children to adults.

The Blue Ocean Institute has a very readable "sustainable seafood" chart that you can download and carry with you when you travel to the market or restaurant. What makes it noteworthy is that it provides information as to why a particular seafood item is a good or bad choice - not just a simply color threat-level indicator. You can download it at the web site or click here.